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Setup guide
Get started (https://brainbox.aisoft.us/setup.html)Advanced setup (https://brainbox.aisoft.us/setup-advanced.html)Troubleshooting (https://brainbox.aisoft.us/setup-help.html)By AIsoft (https://aisoft.us/)
Get started with BrainBox.

From your first document to your first sourced answer.



Choose your starting point

Try the browser demo (https://brainbox.aisoft.us/knowledge.html) to explore the map, sample documents, and prepared answers. Nothing needs installing, and the demo does not read your files or run a model.

To work with your own knowledge, install BrainBox on your computer. The interface still opens in a browser; the library and models run on your machine.
Choose your computer
Mac (https://brainbox.aisoft.us/setup.html#install) · Linux (https://brainbox.aisoft.us/setup.html#linux) · Windows (https://brainbox.aisoft.us/setup.html#windows)

The Mac pilot has an installer. Linux and Windows/WSL2 are under evaluation; verified installation instructions are not available yet. All paths need the current source bundle or repository access. There is no public one-click download yet.




Take the guide with you

Download the setup kit ↓ (https://brainbox.aisoft.us/downloads/brainbox-setup-kit.zip) for offline instructions and a text-first example configuration. This kit contains no app installer or model downloads. Verify the checksum (https://brainbox.aisoft.us/downloads/SHA256SUMS.txt).

The Mac development preview is available by request. A public signed installer is not available yet. Request Mac preview ↗ (https://brainbox.aisoft.us/contact.html#lead-form)



Before you install

Permission to install software on your computer. The connected app has been tested on Apple silicon; Linux and Windows setups need validation on your hardware.

Internet access for tools and model downloads, which can total several gigabytes.

Enough memory and disk space for your chosen models and documents. Check your computer’s processor, memory, graphics hardware, and available storage before choosing models.

The current BrainBox source bundle or repository access from AIsoft. Use the supplied version that includes the new workspace.

The Mac installer sets up Homebrew tools, Node, Bun, gbrain, Ollama, a chat model, a search embedding model, and PDF support. Audio and image support are optional. It also configures startup at login.

Want a hand choosing the right setup for your computer? Help me set up ↗ (https://brainbox.aisoft.us/contact.html#lead-form)




Install on your Mac

Unzip the bundle supplied by AIsoft. Open Terminal in that folder, where install.sh and server.js are visible. Start with documents and text:

bash install.sh --client myworkspace --no-audio --no-vision

myworkspace is the name of your library. Use letters, numbers, and hyphens. Read the installer prompts; you may be asked to approve tool installation. Leave Terminal open until the final check completes.

For audio transcription and image descriptions, use the full setup after checking that your machine can run the additional models:

bash install.sh --client myworkspace

This is a source-based pilot installer, not a signed Mac application. Installer preflight checks have passed; a clean-Mac installation has not yet been verified. We recommend doing the first installation with AIsoft. Do not paste an unverified download command from another site.




Linux

Under evaluation. BrainBox does not yet have a validated Linux installation or a Linux installer. The Mac installer will reject Linux. We are not publishing a copy-and-paste BrainBox installation command until the complete path has been tested.

Ollama provides its own Linux installation instructions (https://docs.ollama.com/linux). That establishes runtime availability, not BrainBox compatibility. Help me assess my setup ↗ (https://brainbox.aisoft.us/contact.html#lead-form)




Windows

Under evaluation. There is no native Windows BrainBox installer or verified Windows/WSL2 installation path yet. Microsoft provides instructions for Ubuntu through WSL2 (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install); that does not establish that the full BrainBox stack works on your computer.

Share your operating system, processor, graphics hardware, and memory so we can assess the next step. Help me assess my setup ↗ (https://brainbox.aisoft.us/contact.html#lead-form)




Which models do I need?

Start with two: Gemma 4 writes answers, and Nomic Embed Text helps find relevant passages. Your documents remain in your library; importing them does not train the answer model. Image and audio processing are optional.

See the exact models, embeddings, and how they work together ↗ (https://brainbox.aisoft.us/setup-advanced.html#model-stack)




Open your workspace

On the computer running BrainBox, open localhost:8630/app (http://localhost:8630/app). This address points to your own computer. It works after installation; it is not the public demo.

Open Local setup. Check that the knowledge engine and local runtime are available, then choose an installed answer model.

Select Add documents. Start with a short, non-sensitive text file or text-based PDF. Choose the file, then select Import selected files.

Wait for the import result. Check for a per-file error. Search embeddings may finish after the document appears.

Use Search for an exact phrase from the document. Open the result and check the original source.

Open Ask your brain and ask a question answered by that document. Check the answer’s source link and model name.

The map shows documents and explicit saved links between them. A document can be searchable without having a line to another document.




Use it day to day

The Mac installer configures startup at login. Startup on other platforms has not been validated. Open the same local address and add more documents gradually. Once tools and models are installed, local search and answers can work without internet.

In Local setup, Keep it concise and Extract next steps guide future answers. Rate an answer and add a correction to save a review. These settings and reviews persist in your library. They do not automatically train a model or execute tasks.

Supported imports include text, Markdown, HTML, CSV, Word, text-based PDFs, supported chat exports, mail exports, and Final Draft. Audio and image processing require the optional tools and models. Scanned PDFs need a separate OCR step.




Keep your work safe

Your library lives in ~/BrainBox/myworkspace. The Mac installer puts the app in ~/BrainBox/app; other platform layouts are not yet validated. Keep your original files as well as a backup of the library.

Before updating, stop BrainBox and make a consistent backup. Follow the backup and update instructions (https://brainbox.aisoft.us/setup-advanced.html#backup). Use a new bundle supplied by AIsoft for updates.

If anything fails, start with Troubleshooting (https://brainbox.aisoft.us/setup-help.html). For a first installation or a different machine, get setup help (https://brainbox.aisoft.us/contact.html).

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